When you’re working on a new product it is easy to just focus on creating a good solution. UX methods then help to make sure that the potential users would get along well with your new solution. However, did you also do the necessary research?

Did you figure out what the problem is that you’re trying to solve?

  • Does the problem exist that you are trying to solve?
  • Is the pain big enough to justify a new solution or is the current way people solve the issue already good enough?
  • Who actually has the problem? Is it the same group of people that you are targeting with your solution?

Although you might have observed a problem with one group of customers it does not necessarily mean a similar group has the same problem. For example, having a well running product for big companies does not imply that smaller companies need a comparable product. It might as well be that they don’t have the same problem due to their smaller size.

Not everything deserves a specialized product

Imagine you’re going to a smallish restaurant. The servant needs a long time taking your order because she is using a tablet device to note the things that you tell her. This might work well in a huge place where the distance between your table and the kitchen is large. However, in this small pub it takes more time to hack the things into a technical device than it needs to write it with pen and paper and bring that piece of paper to the kitchen.

Problems, Solutions, and the Customer

Getting a good fit between the problem, your solution, and the potential customer is key to creating successful products. Yet it is very difficult to get all three aspects covered well enough. While being comfortable to spend your time on solutions, reaching out to people to verify that your solution works for them is a challenge. And on top, you also have to take care that you don’t loose sight of the problem to solve. Creating solutions for a real problem that well known customers have is what good UXers differentiates.